EXTRACTS RELATED TO THE
FOLLOW-UP TO THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT FROM THE REPORT OF THE TWENTY-SECOND FAO REGIONAL
CONFERENCE FOR EUROPE

COUNTRY STATEMENTS ON THE FOLLOW-UP TO THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT1 (AGENDA ITEM 6)

21. Twenty-six Heads of Delegation intervened on this agenda item2 . In addition, the Conference was addressed by the
Co-Chairpersons of the European NGOs/CSOs Consultation, which was held in Porto on 21 and
22 July 2000. The Report of the Consultation is appended in Appendix E to this
Report.

22. The Conference expressed concern at the slow pace of achieving food security in
many countries in the world. It took note of several Member Nations reiterating their
commitment to achieve WFS goals. It was informed of the substantial contributions made by
the EU and its Member States to official development aid for the purpose of food security.
It further took note of the G-8 Summit (Okinawa) initiative on debt relief for low-income
countries.

23. The Conference also took note of the activities carried out by FAO in the Region to
support the countries in meeting WFS commitments. Appreciation was expressed for the role
played by FAO in coordinating the activities relating to the WFS follow-up by the
concerned international organizations.

24. The Conference highlighted:

the relationship between food security and political stability in the countries of the
Region; it took note of the serious economic and humanitarian impact caused by the Kosovo
crisis on neighbouring countries;

the importance and the need to involve NGOs and Civil Society in agricultural and rural
development activities;

the usefulness of national and regional workshops and conferences organized by some of
the Member Nations on sustainable agriculture and rural development;

the need for assistance to a number of Member Nations to combat prolonged drought;

the willingness of Member Nations in the Region, including the CEECs, to contribute with
expertise and resources to assist in reducing hunger and world food insecurity including
providing support for preventive measures as well as support in crisis situations;

the appropriateness of an increased use of experts from CEECs and EU countries in the
implementation of technical assistance projects;

the continued support for the role of FAO as the lead agency for the elaboration of
international standards within the framework of the Codex Alimentarius Commission;

the adoption by some countries of food legislation, which would strengthen food safety
systems to ensure consumers' health;

the measures taken by CEE countries in the accession process, to harmonize national food
legislation and standards with EU requirements.

25. The Conference took note of the proposal made by the Delegation of Hungary for a
water management project involving the countries of the Carpathian Basin to address
recurring problems related to water management and the environment.

1. The European Regional Consultation between FAO and non-governmental and civil
society organizations (NGOs/CSOs) was held in Porto, Portugal on 21-22 July 2000
in conjunction with the 22nd FAO Regional Conference for Europe. It brought
together thirty-five participants representing thirty national, regional and international
organizations from Europe.

2. The Consultation highlighted that the goal of reducing food insecurity is far from
being attained. Four years after the World Food Summit the attitude of many civil society
organizations is pessimistic, particularly regarding the implementation of the commitments
contained in the World Food Summit Plan of Action. To date, little significant progress
seems to have been made. An extra effort will be needed to improve the situation of food
security in Europe and globally and to halve the number of the hungry by 2015.

3. The Consultation reviewed the situation of food security, food safety, sustainable
agriculture and rural development in Europe and concluded that Europe is not exempt from a
trend observed generally throughout the world, that of the growing gap between rich and
poor, not only within individual countries, but also between countries and regions. The
Consultation considered that this phenomenon is particularly severe in European countries
with economies in transition which, over the past few years, have undergone the most
significant increase of inequalities in their history (UNDP Report on Human Development,
1999).

4. The Consultation discussed priorities for future cooperation, among civil society
organizations in Europe, governments and FAO, to achieve food security and sustainable
development objectives within the framework of the recently published document on FAO
Policy and Strategy for Cooperation with NGOs and civil society organizations. It
recognized that networking and sharing of information and experience was essential at all
levels, from the grassroots up to the regional and global levels. It noted that another
important level for networking is that of subregions and, in this context, CSOs need to
interface with intergovernmental organizations at this level. Among the many means that
should be used for networking, including electronic communications, documents and rural
radio programmes, the Consultation emphasized the importance of people-to-people contact.

5. The Consultation identified some priority actions and issues within the broad fields
of food security, sustainable agricultural and rural development and food safety on which
the NGOs/CSOs felt attention could be focussed in strengthening their networking, their
participation in policy dialogue and their capacities:

- Participation in the formulation of strategies and action plans for food security and
agricultural and rural development and in the review and negotiation of policies during
the process of accession to the EU;

- involvement in food quality control programmes;

- involvement in environmental monitoring;

- involvement in monitoring the implementation of the WFS commitments;

- ensuring coherence among European policies for agriculture, trade and cooperation in
support of food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development in Europe and in
southern regions;

6. The participants of the Consultation proposed several actions to be taken in the
future cooperation between NGOs/CSOs, inter alia:

- NGOs/CSOs have an important role to play in articulating and defending the interests
of farmers and consumers in the formulation of agriculture and food policies, in providing
services to rural producers and in promoting the growth of strong, effective and
representative peoples' organizations. They are often in the forefront of experimentation
with new approaches to sustainable development like organic farming;

- national NGOs/CSOs in CEE countries should promote the structuring of civil society
from the base up by motivating their members and by extending their organizations and
improving their effectiveness and legitimacy. They should undertake public education
campaigns with the involvement of the media. They should lobby the governments and network
with other local, national, regional and international NGOs;

- national NGOs in EU countries could provide advice and assistance to partner NGOs in
the rest of Europe to help them build their capacity, improve their lobbying techniques
and learn how to access funding at the European level. The EU development NGOs can help to
bring a global dimension to NGO work on food and agriculture issues in Europe.

7. The Consultation indicated the following areas of cooperation between NGOs/CSOs and
FAO:

- FAO should offer assistance to NGOs/CSOs by providing capacity building, training and
technical assistance in the priority areas identified by CSOs which fall within its
mandate and by providing needed data, information and statistics;

- FAO can facilitate NGO/CSO participation in governmental decision-making processes.
It can encourage exchange of experience through meetings like the present regional
consultation;

- NGOs/CSOs look to FAO to implement the positive commitments contained in its new
strategy for cooperation. Particular reference was made to the importance of effective
diffusion of information on FAO field programmes and other activities; enhancement of
civil society participation in policy fora through such means as providing them with
opportunities to react to meeting papers and to interact with government delegates; and
support for civil society capacity building. FAO missions to countries should make a point
of contacting civil society organizations and involving them in programme discussions.

8. The NGOs/CSOs recognize that Governments have the primary responsibility for
ensuring food security and sustainable development and for defining and enforcing a policy
framework that takes account of the interests of all sectors of the population. In this
context, the Consultation made a number of proposals for cooperation between NGOs/CSOs and
governments, inter alia:

- To enhance the positive role that NGOs/CSOs are able to play in issues of food
security, sustainable agriculture and rural development, the governments in CEE and other
non-EU countries as well as the European Commission should contribute resolutely to the
strengthening of the NGO/CSO sector, by adopting procedures for active participation of
NGOs in decision-making processes as well as removing the existing procedural and
financial obstacles for the NGO participation;

- governments should support education and training programmes for farmers on new
environment-friendly, organic farming practices, especially in non-EU countries;

- to improve the quality and safety of food as well as nutrition habits throughout
Europe, governments should prepare and support programmes of education of consumers and
farmers on the issues of nutrition, as well as programmes to make organic products widely
available to the public. NGOs want to be involved at the national regional and worldwide
level in quality control and environmental impact monitoring programmes, bringing to the
partnership their knowledge, good will, good access to the people and to the media.

9. Follow-up to the present Regional Consultation should build upon the work done to
date and maintain the continuity between the consultations, with the inclusion of new
civil society partners. Attention was drawn to the difficulties experienced by many NGOs,
even of Western European countries, in attending meetings of this kind unless some funding
is available to help cover costs of travelling and living expenses.